Conditioner VS Dressings

[turbomangt]

I thought that it would be a good idea to post a little about the difference between “Dressings” and “Conditioners.” Essentially, even though many professional chemical companies make a variety of dressings, the dressings basically fall into two categories: solvent and water-based. Solvent type dressings will stain your paint, and over time will harm your rubber. It also cannot be used in the engine compartment due to fact that it can ignite. Water-based dressings are safe on plastic, rubber and vinyl and won’t harm paint.
Conditioners come in two forms also: lanolin based and mink oil based. Conditioners are designed to penetrate the leather to prevent it from drying out and cracking. Conditioners should NOT be used on non-porous material like vinyl and plastic. They should be used on leather only. Dressings, on the other hand, have more versatility and can also be used on leather two weeks after the conditioning process. Since dressings don’t penetrate the leather, they won’t help prolong the life of the leather. Most dressings, unlike conditioners, also have UV protective properties which block out the sun’s harmful UV rays. I suggest conditioning leather 4 times a year; and then 2 weeks after each conditioning cycle, use a water-based dressing on the leather for UV protection.